Connecticut ranked nation's sixth healthiest state

Updated 12:19 am, Thursday, December 13, 2012

The good news: Connecticut is one of the 10 healthiest states in the country.

The not-so-good news: We're not quite as healthy as we were a year earlier and suffer from many of the same stubborn health woes plaguing the rest of the country.

The United Health Foundation just released America's Health Rankings, an annual report that ranks states based on 24 factors. Connecticut was ranked the sixth healthiest state in the nation, down from fourth last year. Vermont was the healthiest state for the sixth year in a row and Mississippi and Louisiana tied for least healthy.

The nonprofit group ranks the states on such criteria as the prevalence of smoking, binge drinking and obesity.

Connecticut excelled in many areas. For instance, the state has a low prevalence of smoking, a low incidence of infectious disease and high immunization coverage. Connecticut Department of Public Health spokesman William Gerrish said the state's ranking in the top 10 "shows that the efforts of public health agencies, health care professionals, policymakers and others who are committed to a healthy Connecticut are working."

But the picture in the state is not all rosy, said Dr. Rhonda Randall, the foundation's medical director.

"What we see in Connecticut, as well as the country, is that there are some strengths and some challenges," Randall said.

The state's biggest challenges included its high school graduation rate. This year's report estimated that 75.4 percent of incoming ninth-graders in the state will graduate within the next four years. Last year's report showed that 82.2 percent of freshmen would go on to graduate.

The report also showed that the percentage of children in poverty in the state increased from 8.9 percent to 14.3 percent over the past 10 years.

Locally, at least one expert saw a link between the state's drop in health status and its rise in poverty. "I think it's good news that Connecticut is in the top 10," said Barbara Edinberg, director of research emeritus for the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition. "It's a concern that it has dropped, and I think poverty certainly plays a role in that."

The coalition released its own report last month that showed child poverty was on the rise in Bridgeport. The report showed children living below the poverty line spiked from 31 percent in 2010 to 40 percent in 2011. The federal poverty line changes depending on family size, but is typically defined as about $19,000 for a family of three.

Nationwide, there was also a good news/bad news scenario. On the positive end, deaths from cancer and heart disease have declined since 1990 by 7.6 percent and 34.6 percent, respectively. Premature deaths have also dropped over that same time period, by 18 percent.

However, the report also shows that an alarming number of Americans engage in unhealthy activities. More than a quarter of Americans (26 percent) get no exercise, the rankings show. Connecticut's numbers on that score were roughly the same, with 25.5 percent of state's residents living a fitness-free existence. Meanwhile, obesity continues to be a problem nationwide, with more than 27.8 percent of the country's population obese.

Randall said even though fewer people are contracting deadly diseases, behaviors can adversely affect quality of life. "We're living longer, but that shouldn't mean that we have to live sicker." she said.